Sephardic Rabbis Impact Halachah

Rabbi Yoshiyahu Pinto, nicknamed Riaf, was a Syrian rabbi from Damascus,
Syria. He was born in 1565 and died in 1648 at the age of 83. He was the
grandson of Rabbi Yaakov bei Rav. As a disciple of Rabbi Yaakov
Abulafia, he was ordained with the semicha ordination, received from his
grandfather.

Rabbi Yoshiyahu was appointed Chief Rabbi of Aleppo and Damascus after
the death of Rabbi Chaim Vital in 1620.
Rabbi Vital's son, Rabbi Shmuel Vital, married Rabbi Pinto's daughter.
He wanted to settle in Safed and traveled there in 1625, but due to
family pressures he returned to Syria to lead the many Jews who lived
there.

In 1643, he wrote the commentary on Ein Yaakov, which was titled Meor
Einayim. He also wrote a Torah commentary Kessef Nivchar,
as well as 15 essays explaining difficult passages of the Talmud and
verses of the Torah.

Rabbi Shmuel Vital was the son of Rabbi Chaim Vital, a Chief Rabbi of
Syria. He was born in Damascus where he officiated as Dayan for most of
his life. He was a kabbalist who studied with Rabbi Yaakov
Tzemach and Rabbi Meir Popperos.

He inherited many kabbalist works, called Eitz Chaim, that were written
by his father. Rabbi Vital organized the manuscripts into the compendium
of the Shmonah She'arim.

In 1663, Rabbi Vital left Damascus and moved to Cairo, Egypt, where he
remained for the rest of his life (1677). He wrote a kabbalistic
commentary on the siddur, according to the system of Ari, which
contained kabbalistic mediations for the prayers. He wrote many other
works, most of them unpublished, and collected his own and his father's
chidushim on the Talmud.

Rabbi Yosef ibn Zalach lived in the late
15th and early 16th centuries and served as rabbi of Jerusalem. Pressures from the
Turkish government forced him to flee to Damascus, where he was able to
serve as a rabbi.

He periodically returned to Jerusalem
and was able to finish some kabbalistic works - Avnei HaShoham and
She'eiris Yosef, which were never published.

Rabbi Yosef
was a noted halachist, who received inquiries from Syria, Egypt, and
Eretz Israel. His unpublished volume of responsa contained over 600
replies to halachic inquiries. Some of his decisions have been published
in works of his contemporaries, many of whom refer to him with great
reverence. Two responsa by Rabbi Yosef appear in Shivah Einayim.

Rabbi Yosef Caro was born in Toledo,
Spain in 1488. He was a small child when his family fled to
Constantinople in 1492, after the Jews were expelled from Spain by Queen
Isabella and King Ferdinand. His father, Rabbi Ephraim Caro, and his
uncle, Rabbi Yitskhak Caro, both important scholars during their time,
gave the youngster his Talmudic training.

Rabbi Yosef
Caro arrived in Eretz Israel in 1535, after living briefly in Turkey. It
is believed that he studied under Rabbi Yaakov bei Rav while in Egypt.
After arriving in Safed, Rabbi Yosef Caro was appointed to the Beit Din
of Rabbi Yaakov bei Rav, his teacher. Rabbi Caro supported his teacher and
his attempts at restoring the ancient institution of semichah, authoritative rabbinical ordination and jurisdiction. Rabbi Caro
was one of four rabbis who received semichah from Rabbi Yaakov.
But other rabbis opposed his tradition and after the death of R' Yaakov
in 1546 its use diminished.

Rabbi
Yosef became the leader of the Safed Beit Din after the death of Rabbi
Yaakov. It was probably the Beit Din held in highest regard throughout
the world during its time. Its opinion was sought on difficult issues by
rabbis from all over the world.

Rabbi Yosef also had a
significant impact on shaping halachah, and his works are used today to decide
many points of Jewish law. While living in Turkey, and for the next 20
years, he wrote a commentary to the Turim of Rabbi Yaakov ben
Asher, which traces each ruling in Tur, to its Talmudic source and cites
all other opinions relevant to the ruling and concludes with a decision.
The commentary, called Beis Yosef, was finished in 1542. After some
revisions, it was published in 1551. It was so well received it had to
be reprinted.

Although Rabbi Yosef Caro wrote many famous
works, he also wrote Kessef Mishneh, a commentary on Rambam's Mishneh
Torah, which was another monumental work. Originally published in 1574, it
has been published in almost every edition of Rambam.

As
a person, this rabbi was humble, devout, gentle, and ascetic. He was a
true kabbalist. Rabbi Caro died in 1575.

Source: The
Early Acharonim, The ArtScroll History Series.

Sarina
Roffé is a career journalist and holds a masters in Jewish
Studies. She has researched numerous genealogies including the Kassin
and Labaton rabbinic dynasties and is considered an expert in Aleppan
Jewry. She is a member of Brooklyn's Syrian Jewish community and the
Jewish Genealogical Society, Inc. of New York. She may be contacted by
email at
sarinaroffe@aol.com.